3.3 Strengthening systems of accountability: state of the art approaches

A current area of much interest in the sector has been promoting citizens or consumer voice type activities to strengthen the demand for accountability, to put pressure on service providers to perform from below. The central idea is that if people better know their rights, and how to express these rights, government agencies (including service providers) will have to be more responsive. Mechanisms to strengthen the short arm of accountability (between service providers and consumers) include citizens voice processes, community score and report cards, and the use of cost /input monitoring. Weaknesses in existing procurement systems and problems associated with competitive tendering are also a challenge.

Innovative practices in procurement include community contracting and integrity pacts which aim to reduce the chances of corrupt practices during procurement through a binding agreement between the agency and bidders for specific contracts. Poorly focused anti-corruption activities may well simply shift or harden malpractice, so strategies generally need to be comprehensive and carefully planned. Corruption risk mapping is an important tool here for designing appropriate strategies.

This session will include input from the following:

• U4 Anti-corruption resource centre,
• Practical Action, and
• cases drawn from India, Kenya , South Africa and other countries.